Getty Oakland Raiders DE Clelin Ferrell.
Two weeks of NFL football are in the books and we’re starting to get a better idea of how some of the top rookies are coming along. The Oakland Raiders had three first-round picks in this year’s draft and all three of them began the year as starters. Unfortunately, one of them has already gone down for the year with an injury.
With Johnathan Abram out, Clelin Ferrell and Josh Jacobs are the two first-round rookies who could still make an impact for Oakland. It’s only two weeks in and both players have already started to make plays. That being said, the analytics are very high on one Raiders rookie and not so high on another.
Josh Jacobs Is Best First-Round NFL Rookie, Says Pro Football Focus
Running back Josh Jacobs has been everything the Raiders wanted and more. Through the first two games, he’s made big plays with his hands and feet. He’s also impressed in the blocking game. This has led to Pro Football Focus giving him a grade of 89.8 through his first two games, which grades him higher than any other first-round pick rookie. Jacobs was already a popular rookie of the year candidate before the season started and his strong start won’t change that.
Oakland played extremely well against the Denver Broncos in week 1 and a lot of that was due to Jacobs’ play. His role was lessened against the Kansas City Chiefs, but some of that could’ve been due to the fact that he’s dealing with a groin issue. He should continue to get a substantial amount of carries for the Raiders and will probably become more and more of a focal point for the offense.
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Clelin Ferrell Not Grading Well
Though he was able to get his first NFL sack in his first career game, Pro Football Focus has not been kind to the fourth overall pick, Clelin Ferrell, as they gave him a very low grade of 45.6. Here’s what they had to say about his first two games:
“Granted, it’s only been two games, but so far, Ferrell’s production has not matched his draft spot. He managed just three quarterback hurries across his 38 pass-rushing snaps in Week 2 against the Chiefs, taking his season total up to six total pressures — and only one sack — on his 69 pass-rush snaps so far. Making matters worse, the former Clemson edge defender has earned two consecutive sub-40.0 tackling grades having missed a tackle in each of his past two outings.”
Ouch, those aren’t exactly promising words. However, it’s still very early in the season and in his career. Josh Allen’s grade, who many thought the Raiders should’ve drafted over Ferrell, isn’t much better. He’s at a 58.7 through two games. It takes some time to get up to NFL speed as a pass rusher and Ferrell should be excited that he’s already gotten his first sack. The missed tackles are concerning, but that’s something he could easily correct. His grade should rise significantly over the course of the season.
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